


The ones who went with the rain.

by Skaidridt



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, F/M, M/M, a lot of confusion on my side, amateur sloth cheol, lots of unusual pairings ( I was feeling fancy), probably confusion on your side
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:08:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28195959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skaidridt/pseuds/Skaidridt
Summary: PAUSEDSeungkwan waits for his fiancé to come home.Wonwoo fell silent after losing his best friends in the woods.Seungcheol finds his godson to resemble his brother.And Jeonghan shows up roughly 60 years later.(Then there's also Jun who no one believes.)I know the relations and ships I chose for this one aren't the usual go-to seventeen ships but I felt a bit creative and wanted to see if I can make it work! Thanks to shahondin for spending New Years Eve over this!Based on/Inspired by the Netflix show 'Dark'.
Relationships: Boo Seungkwan/Lee Seokmin | DK, Chwe Hansol | Vernon & Hong Jisoo | Joshua, Kim Mingyu/Lee Jihoon | Woozi, Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Xu Ming Hao | The8
Kudos: 3





	1. woods

The light of the early morning always had something special to it. At least in Seungkwan's opinion. He wasn't talking about the sunrise or anything. Rather the color of the sky at the crack of dawn. Especially during the colder seasons it felt so very piercing clear. As if it would show everything how it really was. Exposing everything's true form.

He turned around and all those very inspiring thoughts vanished as exactly that special light falling through the hoar frost covered window only exposed the emptiness of the other side of the bed. He sighed and stretched.

“You’re already up?” Seugkwan asked as he tottered down the stairs of their house. The wood beneath his feet cracked with every step he took. Reaching the last few steps he blinked at Vernon who already sat at the kitchen counter, flipping through the newspaper.

He looked up as he heard his boyfriend’s scratchy morning voice.

“Good morning.” 

Vernon got up to put the kettle on the stove and fix another cup of coffee while Seungkwan shuffled into the kitchen. Their breath condensed just very slightly as they talked. Even though the first one of them who got up always put on the heater first thing in the morning the house would not reach a proper temperature before noon. It’s been like that for years and at this point they didn’t really bother anymore. They just got used to wearing a lot of socks.

“I’ve got a busy day. School and the retirement home. If I want to make it to the appointment this afternoon I have to get an early start.”

“You’re always so eager.” Seungkwan sighed and gave Vernon a quick kiss before the other poured boiling water over the instant coffee. 

“One of us has to. And we both know it’s not you.”

Seungkwan sat down across the counter and harrumphed like he always did. A little bit sulkily. A little bit dramatically. A little bit like a kid. And only one of the things he did that Vernon loved him for and adored so much about him.

“We also do both remember the days when I used to announce the morning show? I was up way before you.”

“I do! And I miss it.” Vernon laughed. “The house was a little less cold since you turned on the heater at like … 5 am?”

Seungkwan huffed. “And I just thought how nice it is that the heater doesn’t bother any of us and how we only need our love to warm our hearts and how very romantic that is!”

“And I now think about how dramatic you are sometimes.” He reached for his mug to chug the last bits of coffee, then sighed with a loving look in his eyes. “And how much I need this because today is gonna suck so bad.”

“Remember, it’s just kids and old people.”

“You do know I don’t actually get to see any of those? I only talk to caretakers and janitors.”

Seungkwan grinned widely: “Of course I know!”

***

Vernon broke and let down the window. “You’re taking the bus?”

Woozi looked up hearing his neighbor's familiar voice and he smiled awkwardly as he recognized Vernon sitting in his car. 

“Good morning! Yeah I have to. My car broke down yesterday and Mingyu has to get to the station on time. So it’s me taking the bus for the next few days I guess.”

“May I offer you a ride? I’m headed home.”

Woozi got up and walked up to the car so they could talk better. “I don’t want to cause any inconvenience.”

Vernon dismissed his words with a quick wave of his hand. "Don't be ridiculous! I drive things and people anywhere for a living and you’re technically my neighbor. Grab your things and get in.” He disabled the central locking system and threw his bag, which he always put on the passenger seat, in the back. 

Woozi closed the door behind him and rested the bag of groceries on his knees. “Thank you.”, he said. “I got so used to the car that I completely forgot how bad public transport is these days. Especially here.”

“To be honest, being a kid I remember it being fun going by bus everywhere. Or at least home from school. The other way around I don't think it was much fun.”

His neighbor nodded and sighed, watching trees and houses go by, as Vernon left the main street. “I wish we could go back. We were kids back then. Everything was easier.”

“So true. We didn’t have to deal with anything but so much happened since then. More or less. I mean, we're all still living here so ...”

“I can remember how we all talked about moving away, dreaming for a busier and more exciting life. And here we still are, nothing has changed.”

“Speaking of which”, Vernon said and turned up the volume of his car’s radio. “here is the one who asked for change the most back then.”

Their local radio jingle heralded the start of not just a new hour but also the beginning of Seungkwan's radio live news show something. If Vernon would actually listen to all the work stuff Seungkwan wouldn't shut up about we would actually be Abel to tell exactly what his format was about. Unfortunately his boyfriend talked so much all day and night that Vernon sometimes just wasn't sure what among all the chatter was actually important. 

“Good morning, my dear people! My name is Boo Seungkwan and shortly after the weather I will read you todays new just as always. Stay with me to stay up to date! …”

Woozi chuckled. “He surely is the most unprofessional radio announcer I know.”

“How many do you know?”

“ ... not many but I bet you get my point.”

Now it was Vernon’s time to laugh. “Yes, sure I do. But his quotes are great so the broadcasting station doesn't complain. And people recognize him at the supermarket which he loves.”

“Oh I can imagine. But you see, things didn’t change as much as we might think.” They were now headed towards the tree-covered mountains where they both lived and Woozi sighed and settled a little bit more in his seat.

“You’re saying?”

“Look at us! We got old. Mingyu and I are getting married soon, we have a son. Mingyu might actually get a promotion next month or so, … “ 

It felt like his friend would go on with the list but his words faded in thought so Vernon decided to keep it going and let Woozi in on his plan.

“ … I’m going to propose to Seungkwan next week as well. Now that he’s a successful rad-”

“You’re what?” Woozi turned his head with an expression of excitement on his face Vernon wasn’t used to see with his friend. “That is so great!”

Vernon laughed a little bit confused. Woozi had always been the most serious one in their group of friends. Even back in school it was hard to get him in on their shenanigans. Sure he was some sort of genius and they all envied him for his grades but he always lacked a certain sense of humor. Or maybe his humor was just particularly dry. Or he was just way smarter than they were.

“Alright then. I expected this level of joy from frist of all Seungkwan and then maybe your fiance but what are you getting all pumped about?”

“Gyu owes me 50 bugs. That’s all.”

The driver snorted. “Excuse me?”

“In middle school we made a bet if you guys would actually get married one day.” Woozi saw the confusion on Vernon’s face and shrugged. “You know? Back in the day when you started to date secretly.”

“Secretly!” Vernon yelled in despair. 

“Actually not so secretly. We actually asked Wonwoo and Dokyeom if they want in on it as well.”

“I can’ believe you! What kind of people would do that??”

***

The tires squeaked and disturbed the deep silence of that night, as Seungkwan parked and left his car in their driveway. There was no light behind the small windows of the house. A dark and quiet house blending right into dark and quiet woods. It seemed as if Vernon wasn’t home yet.

Seungkwan quickly strode to the front door, unlocked it and closed it behind him. After turning on the lights in the hallway he looked for his significant other’s shoes but there were only his ugly, very colorful slippers. So he really wasn’t home yet.

He shrugged it off. This wasn’t the first time Vernon ran late. He pretty much always did when he had his appointments in the city. 

There also were no messages on their answering machine. Maybe he just didn’t have time to give him a quick call. Seungkwan decided there was no reason to worry and dropped off his bag, changed into more comfortable clothes and concluded it was more useful to care about dinner and what TV show to watch for now, rather than to not-worry about his boyfriend.

***

It knocked on the door and Woozi opened it, wrapping the dressing gown closer around his body as the cold air swashed into the hallway.

“Seungkwan? What are you doing here so late at night-”

“I am so really sorry but I have to talk to Mingyu.”

Woozi took a step back to invite his friend in and took the opportunity of him taking off his shoes to take a closer look at him. Seungkwan seemed to have left his place in a hurry. He was wearing a shirt and sweatpants, glasses, a raincoat and a scarf hung around his neck. His hair was wet. Sure it was raining outside but the door was relatively close to the street. Did he wait outside? Or did he even run to they house?

Something about him seemed restless and something in his eyes and the way he moved send shivers down Woozi's spine. Which was a very rare thing to happen.

A tired voice reached the hallway from the living room: “Who is it?”

“He’s in there.” Woozi said quietly nodding towards the open door and Seungkwan rushed past him. 

Mingyu sat in his usual old armchair, legs crossed and his hair ruffled. He was already dressed with a classic set of pyjamas which wasn’t unusual for this time of the night. He was watching some quiz show but suddenly lost all interest in it as soon as he laid eyes on his old friend.

“Seungkwan, this is a pleasant surprise.” He said getting up but quickly noticed by their visitor’s face how not very pleasant this surprise would turn out to be.

“Vernon is gone. He left for work yesterday and he hasn't returned since. No note and no left messages. I was waiting all day trying to keep myself busy but I haven’t heard from him and he wouldn’t just leave like this. Something must have happened!”

Mingyu’s countenance had changed within the first words of Seungkwan’s very hasty monologue and he now got up, putting his hand on the other’s shoulders. 

“I want you to calm down and tell me what happened, alright? Slow and in detail. Would you care for some tea?”

Seungkwan took deep breath and nodded. Mingyu looked over their visitor’s shoulder at his fiance, who just said: “Maybe we should take this to the kitchen? I don’t want Cheol to wake up. It was so difficult putting him to bed today.”

Mingyu turned off the TV and they walked to the kitchen in agreement, where Woozi made Seungkwan a nice cup of tea.

***

“As I told you before”, Mingyu said, dropping in his chair and looking across his desk at Seungkwan.

“I can take your statement but I can only report Vernon missing when he’s gone for 48 hours. He’s an adult. It’s his decision to disappear and not tell anyone.”

“He wouldn’t do that.” Seungwan replied much more tired than he was about an hour ago when they were still at Mingyu’s house. Now that they sat in the police station, ablaze with very unflattering light, one could clearly see how stressed he must have been for the past days. Dark circles under his eyes and Mingyu swore he never saw Seungkwan with something even close to a beard shadow. Until today.

“Yes. You told me that many times and as a friend I agree with you. He never seemed like a person who would." He reassured him softly. "But as a member of the local police I feel obligated to tell you.”

A small nod.

“Now, would you please tell me everything again? Yeah, I know you just did but I have to write it down and I don’t want to take any wrong information.”

Seungkwan sighed and gazed into the police coffee mug someone had handed him earlier. People handed him a lot of different mugs lately.

“He went to work on Tuesday morning.”

“This Tuesday?”

“Yeah. That night he didn’t come home. He said he had a busy day, driving deliveries for the school and the nursing home. And he also had an appointment in the city that afternoon.”

Mingyu raised his head. “What kind of appointment?”

“He was meeting with a psychiatrist.”

“What for?”

Seungkwan paused and Mingyu sighed. “I can imagine that you don’t want to invade his privacy but if something has happened to him every little thing could help.”

“I know, I know. It just … sounds silly to be honest. He says he has seen someone in the woods when he was little.” Seungkwan frowned and looked at his friend on the other side of the desk.

“As seen in a mirror? A reflection maybe?”

He shook his head. “I really don't know. I keep asking him if there was anything special to whoever he saw because it obviously scarred him for life but he doesn't talk about it at all. Since then he’s afraid of the dark. Vernon actually asked me a couple of times if I would consider moving down to the village, where they have street lights and such but for now we can’t afford it.”

Mingyu wrote everything Seungkwan just said down carefully. “Maybe that’s why he’s always wearing such bright clothes?” He tried to brighten the mood but noticed quickly that it wasn’t doing any good. “And you haven’t heard of him since then? No calls, nothing?”

“No.”

“Are you sure you didn’t miss a call? From anyone not just Vernon.”

“100% sure. Yes.”

He sighed and put the pencil aside as one of his colleagues walked up to him. “Well, I guess that’s mostly it. I will file the missing report in a few hours and we will keep you updated. If anything happens we will call you immediately-”

The other policeman tapped him on the shoulder. “You got a second?”

“Yeah but just one.” Mingyu turned his head around so the other could whisper into his ear directly.

“A team out in the woods just reported an accident on the road near the slate-mine and the station down in the next town just called. They found someone wandering along the main street far out of town.”


	2. rainy season

Jun turned around the corner into the street he lived on. It was raining and his clothes were soaking wet. In Fact it had been raining all week so there wasn’t really a reason why he didn’t put on a raincoat in the first place. 

He told himself that playing hide and seek in the woods would be rather difficult when wearing bright rain clothing but he knew just too well that wasn’t the actual reason. Because for this to be the reason there had to be at least one other kid willing to spend their free time with him.

He went down the street on his muddy bike until he saw the emergency lights.

_News spread fast._ He thought and got off his bike, wheeling it down the sidewalk. Rain was still drizzling down from the sky. Drizzling on him, on the police cars and the four officers who stood by the fence of Wonwoo’s house talking to his mother.

As Jun walked by he spotted the boy his age who glanced through the kitchen curtains. Jun couldn’t really make out his face because of the distance and all the rain spots on the window but it seemed to him as if Wonwoo looked even paler than usually. 

Blue light reflected in his glasses every time it came around. For a short moment Jun stopped, looked at Wonwoo, at the policemen and back. Their eyes met for a second and he could tell Wonwoo knew that he knew.

They’d both seen it. Or rather didn’t see it. Which was the point exactly.

By the time he was about to take a closer look at Wonwoo’s mother and whatever she was talking about to the officers, someone walked up to him from behind, putting their hands on his shoulders gently.

“Sweety, come home. You’re going to catch a cold.” His mother said, rain soaking her sweater and dyeing it a darker shade of green. 

Jun nodded, took a very last look at Wonwoo and then followed his mother home.

***

The following weekend passed as uneventful as every other weekend. Jun stayed in his room most of the time, reading some adventurous stories, playing with the castle his parents got him for christmas. He helped his mother out in the kitchen, while she was listening to the radio. The one thing she got for christmas. His father gave it to her with the words “Chores won’t be as boring anymore. I heard most of your friends already have one.”

Something about that did really upset his mother but Jun wasn’t really sure what it was. And his mother did not yell at his father or anything. She just gave him that smile especially reserved for occasions like that. 

Jun did not understand adults well. And he was no expert at all. But that much he already got.

By Sunday afternoon 4 pm, the two of them would just have sat down to enjoy some tea before Jun would go upstairs to prepare for school the next day, as someone knocked at the door.

His mother got up to answer it and shortly after returned with Wonwoo’s mother closely behind her. She signaled Jun to turn off the radio.

“Please go upstairs and start your homework. We need to discuss something important. You can take your cup of tea and some biscuits if you like.” She tried to pull off a warm loving smile but it weirdly froze halfway so Jun would just do as he was told.

But instead of disappearing to his room, he sat down at the stairhead, where the women couldn’t see him but he was able to follow their conversation just fine.

First he recognized his mothers voice. She was walking around in the kitchen. Probably to fetch her guest a mug.  
“How are the boys?”

“I don’t know.” Wonwoo’s mother sighed. She sounded tired and worn off. “I mean sure I know for one of them but the other I can only guess.” 

“Would you care for some tea?”

“That would be lovely, thank you.”

Jun caught the familiar sound of the heavy water kettle being put on the stove. Then their neighbour continued:

“Mingyu is fine I suppose. He caught a cold last week but since … this thing doesn’t affect him, he’s doing just fine.”

“And Wonwoo? How is he?”

“He … he doesn’t talk to me. Whatever happened out there in those bloody woods silenced him.”

“Is he just not talking about what happened or is he not talking at all?”

“Nothing. Since he came home and the police wanted to talk to him he hasn’t spoken a single word. I asked Mingyu if they had just the slightest bit of conversation. I thought since he is his older brother they might. But I was wrong. Gyu keeps telling me, trying to put my mind at ease that Wonwoo never talked much and that he would come around eventually.”

“But you don’t think so?” Water was poured into a mug and handed over the guest. A chair was moved aside and his mother sat back down at the table. She probably held her friend’s hands in the calming way she would always do with Jun when he was upset about something.

“Honestly, no. Yes Mingyu is right about his brother not talking much but something about this feels different. It’s more serious.”

“Are you saying you suspect him of being traumatized? What does your husband say?”

The other woman scoffed. “What does he ever say. I haven’t seen him since a week and I don’t expect him home anytime soon. Not everyone is as happily married as you are.”

Jun’s mother laughed and he could feel how the mood lightened significantly. “You know, he got me a radio for christmas. So I could listen to music while doing chores. So it wouldn’t be as boring anymore. Can you believe it?”

Both chuckled: “Men.”

***

He saw him again on Tuesday. Monday he didn’t show up in school and Jun honestly wouldn’t have been surprised if he didn’t show up until Wednesday. Wonwoo looked even thinner than usual. His boney knees peeped out beneath the short pants and his tired eyes seemed to disappear behind the thick pair of glasses he always wore and that made him look so smart.

And most importantly his mother was right. During the entire day of classes and tasks he didn’t say a word to anyone. Not even the teachers. One time during math class he was scolded really bad but still no word fell off his tongue. He just stayed silent.

During lunch break Seungkwan and Seokmin would sit with him as they always did, try to figure out how to get him to say just a single word. They would make a game out of it until one of the girls eventually hit them with the blackboard ruler, telling them to leave him alone.

While they sat there talking shop about what was going on with their friend, Jun watched them carefully. One time Wonwoo’s and his eyes locked, just like they did three days prior, in a silent understanding about how they both knew why Jeonghan wasn’t attending school that day, or the day before and why his parents called in sick for him. Why the police were asking questions to their parents only Wonwoo and Jun could answer, because they both were in the woods that day.

Jun quietly decided that he would return the very same day to where they last saw Jeonghan and that he would find him. In his opinion the police were just not getting it right and wouldn’t be able to find their classmate. Simply because they were grown ups, thinking and acting like grown ups. And since when do they really truly understand children?

***

He waited until his mother was in the laundry room busy with god knows what, to put on a raincoat and wheel his bike out of the shed. It was raining more heavily than the days before.

‘Rain season’ was what the grown ups called it and Jun decided that the name was pretty appropriate.

It took him about an hour to return to the place. It didn’t take him an hour because he didn’t remember where it was but because that day they went uphill into the mountains and the woods. Where one could hide easily and hide and seek is the most fun to play.

Fighting his way uphill on his bike Jun wondered about how much luck both Wonwoo and him must have had to not be in Jeonghan’s place right now. He was just hiding when it was Wonwoo’s turn to go look for him and the place he chose was actually a really good hideout. It fit all the criteria for the perfect spot.

Jun himself would have almost gone into the crack to hide from them. To be perfectly clear: He wasn’t playing _with_ them. He was observing them. Not on purpose! He was on his own, going around in the woods, killing time and thinking about this and that. Asking questions to himself about things he doesn’t know anything about and making up answers he couldn’t tell were right or not.

And he met them randomly. Or rather: He heard their voices and followed them, hiding to watch them. Friends peacefully playing hide and seek. Something he had never experienced.

By the time Wonwoo was taking his turn in going to track down Jeonghan Jun had seen where Jeonghan went to hide. And after minutes of Wonwoo not finding his friend, Jun got out of his hideout to help him look. To tell him, where he had last seen their classmate.

They searched the crack until nightfall. Then they gave up.

Now Jun was on his way to that very same spot. He left his bike by the road and jogged deeper into the woods, certain he would find the crack and go look for Jeonghan one more time and eventually find him. He would prove them all wrong. The police, the children in his class … maybe he would even gain friends from this.

The boy slid down a small hillside and made his way through some undergrowth, rain still dripping from his raincoat. 

As he reached the crack he couldn’t trust his eyes.

Jun froze on the spot. 

A … car was stuck in the wall. Smashed and crushed to fit into the crack, the front part … he had to guess: The part with the bonnet stuck out, one door wide open. 

It looked burned. It probably was burning until the rain put the fire out. 

He ran towards the crash side, asking himself how the hell a car would crash this far away from the road. Another question he asked himself but couldn’t properly answer.

Reaching the car he saw a person on the ground. Dressed in burned clothes, eyes closed, facing the mud.

Jun kneeled down next to the young man, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him.

“Sir? Sir! You need to wake up! Hello??”

***

“Oh?”

He opened his eyes. Everything hurt. Just turning his head to the side to look around would make his entire body ache. He breathed in. And coughed.

“Sir, he is awake.” A soft voice said.

“Good. Means he must have made it out of the car just in time. They will still check for fume poisoning, I guess. The car was burning. Just to be sure.”

Vernon was trying to make out where the voices came from but as he tried to sit up, some held him back and pushed him down by his shoulder gently.  
“Please don’t. You were in something like a car accident. A weird one to be honest. Now you’re in an ambulance. We are taking you to the hospital. Consider yourself lucky that kid found you.”

An accident? He remembered driving home from the appointment earlier. He had to talk about something with Seungkwan. About traffic? Maybe.

His eyes wandered around in the back of the car. If this were to be an ambulance it was a super weird one. weren’t they usually light, crammed with drawers and medical devices? Wouldn’t a paramedic sit next to him?

“SIr, what is your name?”

Why were there curtains on the windows? 

“Can you tell me your name, sir?” The soft voice asked again. A little bit more forcefully than before but still gentle.

He gulped and found his entire mouth, throat and lips to be as dry as a dessert.

“Vernon.” He rasped. “Chwe Vernon.”

“Alright then. My name is Hong. Let’s get you to the hospital!”

***

“How are we doing this morning?”

The nurse named Hong spiritedly entered his room and put a tray with food on the table next to his bed. Every morning he would enter Vernon’s room at the hospital this way, swiping away all the negativity a solitarily spend night at the hospital would leave behind.

“Why do you always ask how _we_ are doing? I tell you how _I_ am feeling but I will I ever get to know how _you_ are doing?”

The nurse laughed and opened the curtains. “Do we know each other that well already?”  
“I’ve been here for about a week already, so I guess we do? Also please do not call me Mr. Chwe again. We are about the same age and you know my name.”

“So you want me to call you Vernon?”

He smiled weakly. “At least I would prefer it this way.”

Hong sat down at the side of his bed and took Vernon’s hands into his. “Alright then, _Vernon_. You know the drill: Push my hands away please.”

They have been playing this game everyday three times a day since Vernon got here. Wherever that was. Nurse Hong would ask him exactly that question every time before he leaves the room and Vernon would answer him the way he was supposed to and told it was right but it couldn’t be the _truth_. It just couldn’t.

“And finally: What day is it?”

Vernon sighed. “Thursday. Though I’m not sure. Time doesn’t really pass in this place. If you know what I mean.”

Hong winked and smiled cheekily. “I know. And what year is it?”

“1953?”

“Correct! I’ll check on you again later. Also the police want to talk to you. Again. I don’t know when they will let you be.”

It just _couldn't_ be the truth.

Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will try to upload as regularly as possible but live is busy with uni and work (so please bare with me!).
> 
> Also please let me know what you think.  
> Comments are always great incentive!  
> Also I would love to hear theories.
> 
> Fan-fictions are serious business. More or less.  
> ಠ_ಠ  
> 

**Author's Note:**

> Is this the best comeback we've ever seen? No! Hopefully it isn't.  
> But it is a comeback and that's what matters to me!  
> I sincerely hope you enjoy this at least a little bit and it helps taking your mind off what's going on lately.
> 
> Happy reading!
> 
> Fan-fictions are serious business. More or less.  
> ಠ_ಠ  
> Skaidridt 


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